Farmer letting off gas flares on a bridleway and adjacent to my property.

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Thistle

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We live in a house that is completely surrounded by farmland (apart from our 7.5 acres of garden and paddocks.

For the most part I am a very tolerant and forgiving neighbour, I keep the horses in when there is a shoot day, on these days I can't hack out either as the all the bridleways are on the land the shoot is on. I don't have a problem with this - I choose to live here.
I don't complain about the numerous gas gun bird scarers that are around us, or that fact that although he says they go fox and rabbit shooting on a Tues, it's often on other days with no warning or notice (I do however ask that from March to Oct they don't shoot anywhere near us as horses are out at night, I do offer to turn out at 10pm if they want to shoot near us)

However why oh why does he continue to use flares as pigeon scarers, these are like the emergency flares they use to launch a lifeboat, go off with a loud ripping sound and a huge bang.

Last year I asked if he could ask his farm manager to not let these off whilst parked alongside my fields, just because the horses weren't out didn't mean they weren't here. One time I was injured and had a loose horse when he let one off just as I was swapping a bridle for a headcollar on the yard.

Today he parked just outside our front gate and launched a flare, horses panicing, gallopping all over the fields (he does know that W is in foal)

To make matters worse this farmer is horsey, owns racehorses and is ex hunt master!

My horses are pretty bomb proof, they are used to a helicopter landing in a paddock next to their stables, I only bring them in whilst they shoot right next to the field, they stay out when they are a bit further away as they aren't bothered.

I have asked him previously to let the flares off a bit further away as the horses just can't cope with the suddeness and the ripping sound as they go up, and he agreed that his farm manager was stupid to let them off right next to us!!!

I just want to know what sort of responsible pillar of the community would think it's a good idea to let large firework explosives of whilst parked on a bridleway right outside a house where they know there are 4 horses. (btw where he was parked he wouldn't be able to see if there was anyone using the bridleway either)
 
Hmm, nice. I know there's a code of practice about the use of bird scarers near bridle paths and the BASC has a code of practice about shooting near footpaths and bridle paths, so I'd image there'd be one for the use of flares, if, indeed, this is entirely legal. Surely you must need some sort of licence to set off explosives? If he doesn't respond to a request to take his flares elsewhere it might be worth talking to your local police officer about the use of explosive devices to scare pigeons.
 
I've done some googling about them, not that common in uk. The pigeons just settle again once he's gone anyway!

My OH pigeon shoots sometimes on our land and the surrounding farm land (he does it when the horses come in in the afternoon as the flying rats come in to roost - yummy pan fried pigeon breast!).

We have a reasonable relationship with the land owner, he gives my OH a day shooting as a guesture of goodwill and we chat in the pub. That's partly why I feel so cross.

I can't ring or email the land owner just now as I would get angry with him!!!!
 
Ah well, a friendly word over a pint or two then, although I agree it's very frustrating to have to point out the bleedin' obvious! Hope you get it sorted, I'm surrounded by four shoots, thank god the season's over. And we have gas guns near two of our bridleways but no flares though.
 
Difficult one
Need someone with a bird of prey perhaps to scare the pigeons

Local NFU rep might offer advice or Country Landowners Assoc rep
 
Are we living in a parallel universe ? We have exactly the same scenario. Hubby had to go and pull out the line of old fashioned crow scarers (attached to a stick under a plastic sack to amplify the bang) that were placed 10 m from the back of my stables on the adjoining crop.

We too live "with" the shoot. Last year they put 500 geese on the resevoir behind us and turn up adhoc either at 7am or 4pm and shoot for about 2 hours, right over head. Showering the stables with shot. So even if the horses are in, they are still petrified. Theyve added Sunday to their shoot days too and thats a real pain in the arse as its the very day you might have time to hack out .... }=(

The only thing we could do was approach the local council who took a complaint about nuissance and went out to see the shoot owner. The council werent interested in the BASC code or the danger to life for the horses. It had to be done on nuissance alone.
 
This quote taken from an NFU leaflet..


The Firearms Act 1968 requires a firearms certificate to be obtained, if bird scaring cartridges are used.
The Environmental Protection Act 1990 includes powers to deal with nuisance from auditory bird scarers.
These have been used successfully to stop offending farmers using such scarers.
 
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